US Homeland Security Chief on Livestreaming Execution Threat

United States (US) Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has dismissed concerns that livestreaming the planned execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan could pose an added security threat or turn him into a martyr.

“I don’t see an elevated risk at this point,” Mullin said Sunday, October 11, on CBS’s Face the Nation. He added that people who did not want to watch the broadcast could choose not to.

The Pentagon has announced plans to livestream Hasan’s execution by firing squad at Fort Hood, Texas, on December 3. However, President Donald Trump said he would make the final decision on whether the broadcast goes ahead, leaving that part of the plan unresolved.

Hasan, a former US Army psychiatrist, was convicted by a military court in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. The 2009 attack at Fort Hood killed 13 people and wounded 32.

“If you attack America, we will come after you,” Mullin said, defending the administration’s response to the attack. He said his department assesses risks to the country every day.

The livestream proposal has drawn criticism from lawmakers from both parties, with opponents warning that broadcasting the execution could give Hasan notoriety or encourage a martyr narrative. Mullin rejected the suggestion that the plan created an elevated security risk.

US Vice President JD Vance has also expressed reservations about the broadcast, saying he would not watch if it went ahead. Trump has said the decision is his to make.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham condemned the prospect of a public execution, saying he would not support it. He described the idea as “abhorrent in many ways” in comments to The Rest Is Politics podcast.

If carried out, Hasan’s execution would be the first US military execution since 1961. The Army has scheduled it for Fort Hood, where the shooting took place.

The distinction between the execution and its proposed broadcast remains important: the Army has set a date, while Trump has yet to confirm whether the livestream will proceed.